O Ğ ULCAN ÇEL İ K THE RELIGION OF THE GENTRY AND MIDDLING CLASSES: THE ENGLISH REFORMATION AS REFLECTED IN WILLS, 1509-1553 THE ENGLISH REFORMATION AS REFLECTED IN WILLS, 1509 WILLS, IN REFLECTED AS REFORMATION ENGLISH THE CLASSES: MIDDLING AND GENTRY THE OF RELIGION THE A Master's Thesis by OĞULCAN ÇELİK Department of History İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University - 1553 Ankara July 2019 Bilkent University 2019 University Bilkent To my beloved twin sister THE RELIGION OF THE GENTRY AND MIDDLING CLASSES: THE ENGLISH REFORMATION AS REFLECTED IN WILLS, 1509-1553 The Graduate School of Economics and Social Sciences of İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University by OĞULCAN ÇELİK In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY İHSAN DOĞRAMACI BİLKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA July 2019 ABSTRACT THE RELIGION OF THE GENTRY AND MIDDLING CLASSES: THE ENGLISH REFORMATION AS REFLECTED IN WILLS, 1509-1553 Çelik, Oğulcan M.A, Department of History Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. David E. Thornton July 2019 The purpose of this thesis is to present and analyse statistical data of the religion of the gentry and middling classes as reflected in 1997 wills between 1509 to 1553, during the reign of Henry VIII and Edward VI. In addition to this, the effect of Lollardy, the European Reformation and the attitude of the gentry and middling classes to the English Reformation along with the religious and economic policies of Henry VIII and Edward VI are analysed to provide an insight into changing religious beliefs. The sample used in this thesis was collected from 19 different counties from The National Archives, Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills in series PROB 11 to provide a comprehensive regional analysis of the changing religious beliefs and attitudes of the respective testators towards the English Reformation. This thesis argues that, from the evidence of preambles and committals, Catholic England became a Protestant one by 1553. Keywords: 16th Century England, Early Modern Wills, Edward VI, Henry VIII, The English Reformation. iii ÖZET ÜST VE ORTA SINIFLARIN DİNİ: VASİYETNAMELERE YANSIYAN İNGİLİZ REFORMASYONU, 1509-1553 Çelik, Oğulcan Yüksek Lisans, Tarih Bölümü Tez Danışmanı: Dr. Öğr. Üyesi David E. Thornton Temmuz 2019 Bu tezin amacı, VIII. Henry ve VI. Edward hükümdarlığı sırasında 1509 ila 1553 yılları arasındaki 1997 vasiyetnameye yansıdığı üzere üst ve orta sınıfların dininin istatistiki verilerini sunmak ve analiz etmektir. Buna ek olarak, Lollardlığın etkisi, Avrupa Reformasyonu ve üst ve orta sınıfların, VIII. Henry ve VI. Edward’ın dini ve ekonomik politikaları ile birlikte İngiliz Reformasyonu’na olan tutumu, değişen dini inançlara ışık tutmak için analiz edilmektedir. Bu tezde kullanılan numune, ilgili vasiyet sahiplerinin İngiliz Reformasyonu’na yönelik değişen dini inançları ve tutumlarının kapsamlı bir bölgesel analizini sağlamak için 19 farklı idari bölgeden, Ulusal Arşivler, Canterbury Vasiyet Mahkemesi PROB 11 serisindeki vasiyetnamelerden toplanmıştır. Bu tez, vasiyetnamelerin girişi ve vasiyet sahiplerinin ruhlarını teslim ettikleri bölümlerin bulgularından, Katolik İngiltere’nin 1553’te Protestan hale geldiğini savunmaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: VI. Edward, VIII. Henry, 16.yy İngiltere, Erken Dönem Vasiyetnameleri, İngiliz Reformasyonu. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENT Academic journey needs a strong will, passion, patience and most significantly the support of others. I, therefore, firstly would like to thank Assist. Prof. Dr. David E. Thornton who deserves my deepest gratitude. He introduced the secret voice of testators to lead me complete my study. Even though he had a heavy schedule, he always supervised me, believed in me and supported me to achieve my dreams. He has not only been a professor but a friend who always put me first in his academic life even though he had more important things to do. He has always been an academic role model for me for his passion and patience. I also would like to express my gratitude to Assist. Prof. Dr. Paul Latimer who devoted his expertise on various points on the process and who supported me not only in my Master’s thesis but also Bachelor thesis and enlightened me in historical research. I should thank Ann-Marie Thornton who always believed in me, supported me and led me with her critical questions on the Reformation and gave me the opportunity of presenting my expertise to undergrad students and provided me the art of lecturing. I also would like to thank Assist. Prof. Dr. Zümre Gizem Yılmaz who has always been an influence for me in English Studies and advised me both as a friend and a professor. I would like to express my gratitude to Naile Okan, MA, our current Faculty Librarian and a wonderful historian who helped me to access to The National Archives PROB 11 and advised me on understanding wills in a historical context. I would like to thank my long-life friend and my best friend Ecem Ege with whom I started my academic journey at Bilkent University, English Language and Literature department. She has always been a great support for me for more than 8 years and always there for me to solve my problems, to hold my hand and to make me think v reasonably. Without her support and love, I would not be the person I am right now. I am always indebted to my best friend who played an important role in my life. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues Melike Batgiray and Widy Novantyo Susanto with whom I shared an office at Bilkent University. Throughout my thesis, they always supported me, listened to me and studied with me for hours every day. I will never forget our long in-office discussions on various topics, laughs and great memories that we shared together. I also would like to thank my friends at Bilkent University, Department of History Dilara Avcı, Yunus Doğan and Pelin Vatan with whom I took several courses. I will never forget their support and encouragement throughout my master’s program. Above all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my family: my father Hasan Hüseyin Çelik, my mother Nurdan Çelik and my twin sister Dilan Çelik. They are the greatest support in my life. Without their love and encouragement, I would not be able to finish my thesis. They always believed in me and never questioned my dreams but supported my every move in my life. They made everything possible for me and they are the artists that shaped me to become a better person. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... iii ÖZET .................................................................................................................... IV ACKNOWLEDGMENT.......................................................................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... VII LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................... X LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... XI CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION: THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY REFORMATION AND WILLS ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 The Protestant Reformation ........................................................................... 1 1.2 Reformation in Europe .................................................................................. 3 1.2.1 Martin Luther ............................................................................................... 3 1.2.2 Huldrych Zwingli ......................................................................................... 6 1.2.3 John Calvin .................................................................................................. 8 1.3 The English Reformation ............................................................................ 10 1.3.1 Henry VIII ................................................................................................. 11 1.3.2 Edward VI.................................................................................................. 12 1.4 Early Modern Wills ..................................................................................... 13 1.5 Literature on Wills as Sources ..................................................................... 21 1.6 Methodology ............................................................................................... 28 1.7 Thesis Plan ....................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER II: HENRY VIII: CATHOLICISM AND PROTESTANTISM PRIOR TO THE ENGLISH REFORMATION, 1509 - 1533 ............................................... 37 2.1 Henry VIII: A Catholic King and England ........................................................ 38 vii 2.2 A Step to the English Reformation: Seeking Power over the Church ................. 44 2.3 Religious Policy prior to the English Reformation, 1509-1533 .......................... 46 2.4 Wills during the Reign of Henry VIII, 1509 - 1533 ........................................... 49 2.5 The General Pattern of Traditional Wills between 1509 and 1533 ..................... 50 2.6 Catholic or Protestant? Religious Piety from the Evidence of Wills in England . 56 CHAPTER III: HENRY VIII: CATHOLICISM AND PROTESTANTISM DURING THE ENGLISH REFORMATION, 1534 – 1548 ...................................................